Why this ride
On the way it passes Kelleli; Adji Kui; Taip, Togoluk, Besh Agyz koshk and back through Togoluk.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Gonur Tepe and Besh Agyz koshk
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 208 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 3 h 35
- Journey
- Recorded itinerary
Distance and timing basis
Ordered leg totals agree within rounding. Stop distances are approximate sums of rounded legs. Stops, delays, approach and any separate return travel add time. Basis: planning record, not independently verified geometry.
Reading history stays on this device. My road watch requires a separate selection; opening it does not subscribe this ride.
Distances and riding times are planning figures. Check local closures and conditions before you ride.
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. Gonur Tepe
Gonur Tepe lies deep in the sands north of Mary, at the end of a long track into what was once the delta of the Murghab river. Today the river runs dry long before it gets here and the desert has taken over, but four thousand years ago this was the capital of a Bronze Age civilisation that archaeologists call Margiana, or the Bactria–Margiana Archaeological Complex. Palaces, temples, fortifications and huge cemeteries have been excavated from the mounds, and walking among the mud-brick foundations in the silence of the desert is eerie and moving.
Read the complete Gonur Tepe write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Gonur Tepe is where the day begins. Next is Kelleli; Adji Kui; Taip.
2. Kelleli; Adji Kui; Taip
Four thousand years ago, in the delta of the Murghab river, a civilisation grew up around irrigated fields and fortified settlements that archaeologists call Margiana, or the Bactria-Margiana Archaeological Complex. Kelleli, Adji Kui and Taip are names of mounds in that delta, low hills of eroded mud brick standing in the flat plain of the Karakum, where the river once split into channels and watered an oasis. People lived here between about 2300 and 1700 BC, building walled compounds with towers, workshops, graves and what may have been temples with fire altars.
Read the complete Kelleli; Adji Kui; Taip write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Kelleli; Adji Kui; Taip comes up about 36 km into the recorded legs. Next is Togoluk.
3. Togoluk
What I can say is that the surrounding land belongs to the Murghab oasis, where a river born in the Afghan mountains fans out into irrigated fields, then dies in the sand. This is one of the oldest farming and trading landscapes in Central Asia, and everything around here is shaped by water and by the lack of it.
Read the complete Togoluk write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 73 km into the recorded legs you reach Togoluk. Next is Besh Agyz koshk.
4. Besh Agyz koshk
Out on the edge of the Merv oasis in southeastern Turkmenistan, where irrigated fields fade into the sand of the Karakum desert, stand the ruins of buildings known as koshks. These were fortified mansions of mud brick, with heavily ribbed walls that look like giant corrugated cardboard, built in the early medieval period by the landed gentry of Merv. Besh Agyz, which means five mouths, is one of them, and it is part of the UNESCO listing of the Silk Roads, alongside the vast ruined cities of Ancient Merv, a World Heritage Site since 1999. Merv was for centuries one of the great cities of the Islamic world and a key stop on the routes between China and the Mediterranean, until the Mongols destroyed it in the thirteenth century.
Read the complete Besh Agyz koshk write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Besh Agyz koshk, about halfway. Next is back through Togoluk.
5. back through Togoluk
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Togoluk write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Togoluk sits at 139 km, about halfway. Next is back through Kelleli; Adji Kui; Taip.
6. back through Kelleli; Adji Kui; Taip
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Kelleli; Adji Kui; Taip write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Kelleli; Adji Kui; Taip comes up about 172 km into the recorded legs. Next is Gonur Tepe.
7. Gonur Tepe
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Gonur Tepe write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Gonur Tepe closes the day.
Leg by leg
Gonur Tepe to Kelleli; Adji Kui; Taip
Gonur Tepe → Kelleli; Adji Kui; Taip is 36 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Kelleli; Adji Kui; Taip to Togoluk
Kelleli; Adji Kui; Taip → Togoluk is 37 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Togoluk to Besh Agyz koshk
Togoluk → Besh Agyz koshk is 31 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Besh Agyz koshk to back through Togoluk
Besh Agyz koshk → back through Togoluk is 31 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Togoluk to back through Kelleli; Adji Kui; Taip
back through Togoluk → back through Kelleli; Adji Kui; Taip is 37 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Kelleli; Adji Kui; Taip to Gonur Tepe
back through Kelleli; Adji Kui; Taip → Gonur Tepe is 36 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.